


Oscurità, amore mio

by KeiChanz



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Blood and Violence, Eventual Smut, F/M, Humor, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-05 14:17:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17326580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeiChanz/pseuds/KeiChanz
Summary: Title change! Previously titled "Dalle Ceneri."Kagome is a hired assassin that is sent out to eliminate troublesome monsters and demons, but there is an unusual and rare quirk about her that puts her above the rest. Sent to a gritty pub in the heart of Florence, Italy, she mistakes a sliver-haired mind reader for her target, but she soon realizes that this particular monster is very different than who she thought he was.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have absolutely no goddamn clue just what the hell I’m doing with this AU but i’m having way too much fun to stop.
> 
> inspired by a book series i’m reading and it’s hilarious and i just kept thinking “what if” and then well suddenly this ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ sorrynotsorry
> 
> A fair warning: This story is not going to have an actual plot. It’s going to be all over the place. The parts/chapters will be random scenes of whatever my brain decides to concoct, although most of them will most likely be Inukag interactions, rating from K all the way to M. They will probably also be very sporadic. There will be violence, blood (nothing hardcore), sex, and other scandalous/nefarious things. 
> 
> Big thanks go out to sssuperbartola and sesshsbae over on tumblr for agreeing to be my Italian customs/facts and translator sources lol. A lot of this story will take place in Italy becasue I wanted a change of scenery and they are my Italian queens <3 thanks guys, I appreciate it so much! Irene I know you were looking forward to this, so I hope you enjoy! ^_^

The only reason why he’d noticed her at all was because out of all of the humans packed like vile smelling sardines into this sorry excuse of an establishment, grinding, swapping spit and outright fucking on the dance floor,  _her_ thoughts were definitely not normal considering the type of place this was. Because while everyone  _else_ was thinking about sex and booze and getting their next fix…

 _Hers_ was of the more musical variety detailing a certain violet creature from the 1950’s that had a penchant for eating people.

As soon as the infuriatingly annoying lyrics crashed through his frontal lobe and demanded his admittedly reluctant undivided attention – because the feminine voice in his head was  _very_ loud and damned near drowned out every other voice – he’d nearly spit out his drink trying to withhold the abrupt and completely untoward laugh that bubbled up in his throat. Which was very fortunate, because he’d paid six euros for a single glass of whiskey. He’d rather not waste his money spitting it all over the place.

He’d recovered quickly, however, and against his better judgment, he’d honed in on that feminine voice still mentally belting out those annoying lyrics, and as he focused solely on that particular thought trail – or in this case, song – everything else faded into the background in a dull roar that was easily ignored. The lyrics became crisp and clear in his head, as if they were being said directly into his ear, and with his concentration locked onto his target, finding the source was only the simple matter of slackening his hold, for lack of a better term, on the thought and allowing it to more or less drag his gaze back from whence it originated. He likened the unique sensation to riding along the invisible current in the thought’s wake, so to speak, although it would be harder to explain to someone who was not privy to mind reading as he was.

_…one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater. Sure looks strange to me. Well he came down to earth and he lit in a tree…_

And in this case the source just happened to be a black-haired bombshell sitting at the other end of the L shaped bar counter, wearing a skin-tight black leather top and skirt that had certain areas on his body tightening coupled with sexy as hell thigh-high boots. However if he had to choose the most starling thing about her, it wouldn’t be her choice in attire, her questionable taste in music, or even the hint of black lace he could see peeking out just barely from under the waistband that clingy leather skirt.

It would be the fact at how utterly and completely bored she looked. With her legs crossed at the knee and her elbow propped on the counter with her chin resting in her hand, her expression was one of blank indifference as she stared sightlessly at the air in front of her, one of her booted feet swinging idly along to the tune in her head.

_It was a one-eyed, one-horned—hm?_

There was no glass in front of her, suggesting she hadn’t ordered a drink, or if she had she’d declined a refill and already paid her tab. Curious despite himself, he probed a little deeper, sifting through surface thoughts overlaid with the general impatience of waiting, and that should have alarmed him but as distracted as he was, he failed to notice the annoying lyrics had stopped and a pleased smile had surfaced on full, kissable lips.

 _Oh,_ there  _you are._

Inuyasha balked at the thought and frowned. That was…quite random—

_I was wondering when you’d finally show yourself. I’ve been singing that atrocious song for an hour now.  I nearly put myself into a coma._

Or perhaps  _not_ so random.  _What?_

 _Well, I had to get your attention_ somehow _,_ she thought and it belatedly occurred to him that she was speaking to him. Which meant she was aware of his presence in her mind. Shit.  _I figured singing the most obnoxious song known to man in a place where the norm would usually consist of sex and alcohol would be like homing beacon._ Her smile turned sly _. Glad to see I was right._

Inuyasha gaped at her. The little wench had  _played_ him.

Fuck. Why the hell did that turn him on. What the fuck.

Quickly regathering his wits about him and turning his head so she didn’t catch him gawking at her – this new development required a sense of caution now – Inuyasha schooled his expression and lifted his glass to his lips.

 _Well, well. This is certainly a surprise, but not an unwelcome one, I must say. Didn’t expect to find another MR all the way out here in this dingy little pub._ He tipped his glass back and slanted a glance at the dark-haired woman. She was smiling and looked downright delighted.

 _Actually,_ she said and out of his peripheral he watched her swivel around in her stool, dark eyes peering out over the other patrons and he knew she was looking for him.  _I’m not a mind reader._

He frowned.  _Then how—_

 _It’s more like…reading an individual’s emotions rather than thoughts,_ she interrupted and from the look of concentration on her face, she was trying to pinpoint his location using the emotions she could sense from him. Difficult, but not impossible, as evidenced when he saw her look over in his direction, however her eyes passed over where he sat.

Inuyasha kept a neutral face as he pondered her words, and though it was appealing to give a hint as to who she was speaking with, he found himself wanting to draw this out even longer, reluctant to end the exchange so quickly. He lifted his half-empty glass, stared at the amber liquid, and then out of nowhere realization dawned.

 _If you’re thinking the word ‘empath,’_ she said, most likely picking up on the enlightenment that replaced muddled confusion,  _then you would be correct._

She sounded pleased and Inuyasha tried very hard to mask the surprise that rode on the coattails of that clarification. Empaths were rare, more so than even mind readers, and Inuyasha considered himself fortunate to have run into one here of all places.

Which most likely meant that she was here for a very specific reason because you didn’t just accidentally run into an empath. That was not how it worked. They were rare for a reason; they did not like to be found, and were experts and concealing their presence. So to have this woman openly admit that they were an empath could mean one of two things.

One, she was heavily protected, or two, she was looking for someone.

A minute later after shamelessly rooting around in her thoughts he knew which one it was, and it was a challenge to keep his initial reaction contained, a mix of bewilderment, suspicion, and delight. It was a strange reaction to be sure, and it didn’t exactly bode well for him, but he didn’t care. The situation had just significantly increased in the benefits factor for him, and he wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass him by. And besides…

Inuyasha always liked a challenge.

Intrigued, and not bothering to hide his curious amusement, Inuyasha remained blank faced as her eyes skimmed over him again, no doubt trying to match up the emotions she was sensing to a person’s expressions and movements. So far she wasn’t having any luck and he fought a smirk when he heard an annoyed huff over the dull roar of the pub. What, did she think he was going to make it easy for her?

She suddenly brightened and once again, Inuyasha had to resist the urge to shake his head in amazement. Did she even realize how obvious she was being?

 _And now you’re wondering why I would out myself like this,_ she accurately guessed and he had to applaud her. She was very good at what she did which told him she had a lot of experience under her belt. Damn, this just kept getting better.

He wasn’t worried, though. Despite what she was thinking, he wasn’t who she was looking for. He was confident in this because there was one particular reason why he was set apart from other mind readers, a singular advantage he possessed that would become glaringly obvious the second she identified him. It sort of made him disappointed because it would have been a lot more fun if he  _had_ been her target.

Well, fun for  _him_ , anyway. He couldn’t say the same for her and he lifted the half-empty glass to his lips to hide his grin.

The dark-haired woman laughed and the pleasant sound had his ears involuntarily flicking toward her from beneath his black ballcap.  _I’d love to tell you,_ she began and Inuyasha sensed a but.  _But I think that’s the kind of conversation that should be spoken face to face, don’t you think?_

Hah. Nailed it.

 _So, why don’t you tell me who you are, and we can have a nice long heart to heart outside where we’ll have some…peace and quiet. Whaddaya say?_ What she did next cemented his idle suspicions that she knew he was watching her despite not knowing where he was; she swung around in her seat and thrust out her chest, fingertips drawing a tantalizing path over her collarbones, across her breasts, then further down her trim figure over a flat, toned stomach.

He couldn’t help it; momentarily forgetting himself he growled but then quickly whipped his head around before she could catch his very appreciative gaze. Damn, he had to hand it to her; she knew exactly what she was doing and if he wasn’t careful he was going to give himself away before he was ready. It was bad enough that she could probably feel his lust for her, and a quick glimpse into her mind revealed she had and was feeling  _quite_ proud of herself.

Fuck. He had to do something. He had to give himself an advantage again, up the ante somehow because if he didn’t she’d realize who – and  _what_ – he was, ending this little game of theirs, and he didn’t want that, at least not yet. But dammit, she was getting closer to finding—

Inuyasha suddenly stopped, and then wanted to kick himself for being so stupid.  _Duh, you idiot_ , he scolded himself, rolling his eyes and then in the next instant, when her eyes were averted for a split second, he vanished.

Kagome scanned the seats at the other end of the L shaped bar again, paused, and then slowly backtracked. Her eyes landed on an empty seat that she could have  _sworn_ had been occupied not even five seconds earlier. She tried to remember what he looked like, because the tall, muscular figure that came to mind could only belong to a man, and the more she thought about it, the more she could recall who had sat in the now vacant seat. She hadn’t seen his face, but the thick arm muscles and broad back encased in a black t-shirt had definitely warranted her appreciative attention, and coupled with the short, shaggy silver hair, the attraction had been almost instantaneous and just imaging what all that glorious muscle looked like naked had her body tingling in interesting places.

It was too bad she was on the job, otherwise she probably would have put her seduction skills to good use, but it was just as well he was gone now. Her boss would consider him a distraction, and she could remember quite vividly what had happened the  _last_ time she’d allowed herself to become distracted.

She would rather not have a repeat performance of  _that_ particular moment in time, thankyouverymuch.

Shaking her head, Kagome huffed and continued her search.  _Well?_ she prodded after his emotional grid had been silent for several minutes. She trailed a finger down the slender column of her neck, meant to entice her target as a provocative smile curled her lips.  _Come to me and we can—_

A hand, much larger than her own and tipped with deadly looking claws circled the back of her throat and Kagome’s thoughts came to a screeching halt, her eyes going wide as a gasp whispered past her lips. She tensed, waiting for the inevitable crushing of her windpipe, cursing herself because there was only  _one_ person who that hand could possibly belong to.

“Tell me,  _mia piccola fenice,”_ a male voice growled in her ear and Kagome shivered as hot breath washed over her neck even as her eyes went wide at his chosen nickname. “How did you know? I find I’m rather curious.” He was so close his chest against her back and she hated herself for wondering how it would feel to have him pressed flush against her. He chuckled and her face flamed.

 _Get_ out _, asshole._ “Know?” she said aloud, feigning ignorance, though she should have known better.

He tsked. “Don’t play coy,” he rumbled and gave a subtle flex of his fingers around her throat, however he didn’t squeeze. “I’m giving you the rare chance to tell me instead of just finding out the easy way. Don’t make me regret that decision.” Talons dragged across her flesh and Kagome bit her lip to stifle any traitorous sounds from escaping.

Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth since it would be entirely foolish if she refused, Kagome slowly relaxed once she realized he wasn’t going to squeeze her throat and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her racing heart, although his breath on her neck was  _very_ distracting—

He chuckled again and Kagome mentally screamed, as much as in frustration as to force him out of her private thoughts.  _Goddammit!_

Clearing her throat, her face red as she glared mulishly ahead of her, Kagome tried very hard to ignore the warmth of his hand as she gathered her thoughts. How did one explain what came naturally to them?

“Normal humans are very easy to read,” she began, her voice soft in case of eavesdroppers. “Their emotional grids are very loud and open, unguarded without fear of manipulation because our existence are just myths to them, stories to tell late at night, or whatever. Why should they feel the need to protect themselves against a mental assault, right? It doesn’t take much for me to get a lock on and, well…” She shrugged and he grunted in understanding. “So when I enter a place like a bar, the typical feelings I expect are lust, joy, and a general sense of carelessness.”

Inuyasha considered that and nodded; that’s basically what his nose told him as well so it made sense. It didn’t answer his question, though, so he gestured for her to go on with a wave of his hand.

 _Impatient,_ she inwardly snorted and he smirked, but let it go. She sighed, and she sounded a bit piqued as she continued, “ _You_ guys, on the other hand, are similar but have one notable difference. Your grids are more subdued. Um…muted, so to speak. You’re privy to the existence of humans such as myself, or even other creatures seeking to destroy, so therefore it’s an unconscious habit for you to mentally guard yourself against anything that might manage to sneak past your defenses, thus your emotions aren’t as loud or open. It’s like…” She paused, wrinkling her nose as she tried to come up with an accurate description. “It’s like your grid is masked, or concealed behind a mesh wall. I can feel them to an extent as little wisps escape through the holes, but unless I’m focused solely on you, I’m unable to get an accurate read.”

Inuyasha absorbed all of that with a contemplative frown, turning her words over in his head, and he didn’t truly understand what she meant until she finished with, not without an eye roll, “So in other words, your presence is an annoying smudge on my otherwise crystal clear and perfect landscape of emotions and it’s instinct to investigate it until I find the source. Happy now, Dracula?”

Inuyasha snorted and couldn’t help but retort back with, “You know Dracula’s not the original name.”

“You’re all the same to me,” was her snappish reply and,  _goddamn_ , he loved her sass. When was the last time he’d enjoyed a woman’s company so much when he wasn’t fucking her against the nearest hard surface?

“Yeah, see,” he drawled and something in his voice had Kagome’s brow puckering in puzzlement. “About that. We actually ain’t all the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“For starters,” he said, his tone blasé, “my diet doesn’t include a weekly dose of O positive.”

Completely confused now, because  _every_ vampire required blood at least once a week to survive, Kagome jerked herself out of his hold and he let her, his hand falling away. She took a few steps before whirring around to face him, expecting soulless black eyes, a pale complexion, and mouth spread into a lethal fang-bearing grin.

She hit one out of three and though it should have made her feel marginally better, the look he was giving her suggested she was still very much in danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Mia piccola fenice - my little phoenix


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found my new title!
> 
> Previously known as "Dalle Ceneri," this story is now titled "Oscurità, amore mio" which means “Darkness, my love” in Italian. Sooooo many hugs and thanks goes out to my dearest friend and inspiration sssuperbartola! She’s been immensely helpful with writing this story and I couldn’t do it without her, or sesshsbae! Thanks you two! <3

Dark eyes wide with a something akin to warried shock, Kagome took in the figure standing before her in all his muscled glory, his eyes the color of burnished amber, skin lightly tanned, and his mouth stretched into a wicked grin that did indeed reveal fangs, however they were smaller and definitely  _not_ that of the bloodsucker variety.

Kagome opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. “You’re not—”

“Nope,” he said, crossing his arms.

“But you can—”

“Yep.”

She shook her head, utterly confused and yet at the same time—

No. No, she was just confused. She was  _not_ impressed. She wasn’t.  _She wasn’t_.  

“I don’t under—h-how—”

He sighed, as if deeply troubled, though from what Kagome was getting from his emotional grid, he was more amused than anything. The bastard. “That’s a bit of along story, I’m afraid,” he confessed and then glanced somewhere behind her before cocking a brow. “One, by the looks of it, that you don’t really have the time for.”

She frowned at him and turned around to follow his gaze. “What— _son of a bitch!_ ”

Trying and failing to blend in with the gyrating and swaying bodies on the dance floor, the vampire her boss had sent her to eliminate was attempting to make his getaway. If Kagome hadn’t been absolutely certain he was her target, the intense panic that slammed into her when he caught her staring at him instantly gave him away and after that he abandoned all pretenses of stealth and made a mad dash for the exit, shoving humans out of his way and ignoring the indignant shrieks of protest.

Forgetting about the white-haired vampire-but-not, Kagome immediately took off after him, managing to slip between the sea of people more effectively than he had and was out the door in record time. The cold air made her skin pebble but she ignored it as she hiked up her leather skirt and retrieved her Sig, double palming it as she edged along the wall of the pub and peered into the dark alley beside it.

She didn’t see anything, but that meant nothing. Vampires were adapt that concealing their presence, but Kagome knew what to look for, dark eyes skittering around and searching for signs of his hasty escape, mentally reaching out and attempting to glean his location from the faint trail of panic she could still sense.

Cautiously she stepped into the dark ally and inched further down the narrow strip of pavement, taking note of the trash cans, a dumpster and various boxes lined up along the parallel walls of the buildings. The sliver of moonlight helped her see, but it was still dark enough where she had to squint to make out the shape leaning against the dumpster. She kept her gun pointed at it as she stepped closer, but huffed in irritation when it turned out to be a pile of garbage bags.

Scowling, the dark-haired assassin lowered her weapon and thrust a hand through her hair in frustration, cocking a hip and chewing on her bottom lip in contemplation. She knew he wouldn’t have gone very far; she had extensive and accurate knowledge that this particular bloodsucker got his meals in pubs such as the one she just left, and it was the only one open around here for miles. She was positive he would be back; underlying the panic she’d felt as he’d fled had been a gnawing hunger that had been ignored for one day too long and he was weaker than usual as a result, so traveling very far in his condition was unlikely. Right now he was most likely biding his time and waiting until she gave up the chase before returning.

She inwardly snorted. Yeah, fat chance. She’d waited a whole month once before taking down her target; a few hours were nothing.

Grumbling in annoyance, but knowing there wasn’t much she could do at the moment, Kagome holstered her Sig, turned around—and jumped.

“Jesus—what the fuck!”

A fang-bearing grin. “Flattery will get you everywhere,  _mia bella fenice._ ”

Ignoring that rather egotistical remark, Kagome’s lips tightened as her hand flew to her left hip. “You have no right,” she hissed and had the fleeting thought to go for her gun, but immediately dismissed it. He was far too close and ten times faster than she; he’d be on her before she could even draw it.

“You gave me the right when you purposely attracted me with that god-awful travesty of a song,” he returned smoothly, giving a careless shrug and Kagome wanted to punch him because she couldn’t even refute that. “I’m certain Tallon rooted around in there as well and found more than he bargained for, which explains his hasty retreat.”

“Tallon?”

He stared at her. “Your target?”

Kagome balked. “You know him?”

He gave another careless shrug. “No, but I’ve seen him around. He frequents this pub.”

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Only someone who also frequents a pub would say that.”

“I like their breadsticks,” he said blandly by way of explanation, his expression blank.

A vampire that liked breadsticks. Oh good lord she should’ve had a drink when she had the chance.

“I’m not a vampire,” he casually reminded her but Kagome didn’t believe it. Vamps were the only creatures that had the ability to mind read.

Crossing her arms, Kagome quirked a brow at him and asked, voice heavy with skepticism, “Really. Then what are you?”

He smiled at her, catching her off guard and she resisted the urge to inch away. The smile was pleasant enough, but there was an underlying hint that said  _danger_ and it made her uneasy.

“I already told you,  _bella fenice_ ,” he said and his golden eyes grew hooded even as he continued to smile at her. “It’s a long story.”

“Stop calling me that,” she snapped, eyes the color of dark chocolate glaring at him with a veiled fire that threatened to burn him to the bone if he continued to provoke her.

He tilted his head, all innocence, and Kagome barely kept herself from snorting. Vampires were anything but innocent. “It suits you,” he said, racking his gaze down her body and she shuddered despite herself. His grin told her he’d noticed. “You are fiery. Passionate. I felt that a name like ‘phoenix’ would be quite flattering. You don’t like it?”

Kagome glared at him and felt her cheeks heat despite herself.

His grin widened. “Would you prefer something else? Perhaps  _piccolo gattina? Dolce angelo?_ Or maybe something more along the lines of  _bella bonazza.”_

She had no idea what that last one meant, but it didn’t matter because going by the way those molten eyes crinkled at the corners and the deep chuckle that reverberated in his chest, it wasn’t an improvement. With every ridiculous name he rattled off Kagome’s jaw clenched even tighter and her hand suddenly itched, wanting to feel the reassuring steel of her gun against her palm while she popped a few silver bullets into the fucker’s forehead.

When still she didn’t answer him, he raised his eyebrows and the smile he gave her that time was downright lethal. “No? Then how about—”

She snapped and spat harshly without thinking, “ _Kagome!_ My name is  _Kagome_ , you goddamn—”

Kagome froze and the color abruptly drained from her face as her eyes went very large. Her heart beat erratically in her chest as the sense of what she’d just inadvertently done came crashing down upon her and she stumbled backwards as if the realization was an invisible force. Horror and dread roiled through her so strongly she felt sick and she swallowed compulsively as bile rose in her throat, her stomach rolling uncomfortably, her blood turning to ice in her veins, leeching the warmth from her skin and causing her to shiver almost uncontrollably.

The coldness she felt, however, was nothing compared to the deadly chilling smile he gave her then that was at complete odds with the searing heat in those molten amber eyes.

“Ka-go-me,” he purred, sealing her fate, and then he moved so fast Kagome didn’t even register it until her head was suddenly yanked back and two sharp points pressed against the soft flesh where her jaw met her neck. She jerked, but the steel arm around her waist prevented her from escaping and she bit down hard on her lip to stifle the whimper when a hot tongue lashed against her skin.

“You—you tricked me,” she gasped breathlessly, pushing against his chest, hating how her traitorous body reacted to his closeness. Gone now was the previous chill that had blanketed her body after she’d made her foolish mistake and in its place was a raging heat that roared through her with the intensity of a thunderstorm. Her nipples tightened, her muscles clenched in need, and warmth pooled between her legs—all instinctive reactions because she’d foolishly forgotten herself in her anger and irrevocably bound them together tighter than any contract ever could.

All because she’d willingly given a vampire her name and everyone knew that to do so was as good as signing your own death warrant because your life was no longer your own.

“No,  _mia bella fenice,_ ” he growled against her neck and he heard her breath hitch in her throat. “I didn’t. You gave me your name willingly, and now...” He dragged his fangs along the slender column of her throat, brushing his lips against her thundering pulse and pressing a tender, whisper-soft kiss against the wildly fluttering skin.

Then his grip tightened, a savage growl erupted from his throat, and he snarled, “Now, Kagome, you’re  _mine_.”

He struck and Kagome screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cackles gleefully* God this is so fun.
> 
> Piccolo gattina - little kitten  
> Dolce angelo - sweet angel  
> Bella bonazza - loosely translated “hot stuff.”  
> Mia piccola fenice - my little phoenix
> 
> Originally I wanted Inuyasha to call her “sugar lips hot tits” but there’s really nothing that translates to those direct words lmao

**Author's Note:**

> *Mia piccola fenice - my little phoenix


End file.
